Ironing board having fastening means



Feb. 20, 1951 A. P. LANTZ IRONING BOARD HAVING FASTENING MEANS 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 6, 1947 ON .N Q mN QLFC 3 I ON N mN mm 1 I Onmm mN A LPHA PERRY LANTZ.

Feb. 20, 1951 A. P. LANTZ 2,542,037

IRONING BOARD HAVING FASTENING MEANS Filed Feb. 6, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2fi as es 2| Z l l 5 0 57 45 57 gmmm V ALPHA PERRY LANTZ V o 49 5&4)

Feb. 20, 1951 A. P. LANTZ 2,542,037

IRONING BOARD HAVING FASTENING MEANS Filed Feb. 6, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 3F G. n. 3 2 0 ALPHA PERRY LANTZ Patented Feb. 20, 1951 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE IRONING BOARD HAVING FASTENING MEAN S.

7 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved hinged sectional ironing board ofthe type adapted: to be folded into compact form rendering the sameeasily portable as in a suitcase or conveniently carried package.

The invention is designed to supply a common need of people travelingfrom place-to-place and stopping at hotels or apartments where ironingboards are not usually at hand, in meeting emergent or desired uses, itis simply necessary for one to unfoldv his own board, accompanying hispackage, and attach. it to a convenient means, as the usual dresserdrawer, in a position for iron- In an ironing. board. of the characterreferred to the sections of the board are rendered self-supporting, soto speak, that is, capable of performing their functions when extendedand temporarily mounted at the inner end of. the inner section of. theboard upon an opened drawer or the like; rendering it unnecessary toprovide props or legs for the outer or free end section of the board,and leaving the board entirely unobstructed throughout for the slippingof garments thereover and therearound in the manipulation of the latterwhen. ironing the same.

- Two primary objects underlie the preferred r ironing position, in asubstantially level position, the latter means comprising hooks andshanks of minimum thickness, but suflicient strength, and meansassociated therewith for ad-- justing the hooks and shanks to accordwith conditions' found in the dresser or the like the ad justingmeansbeing located substantially within the area of the bottom of the innersection of the board to' oifer no substantial obstructions orprojections below the plane of the bottom of the board that mightinterfere with the arrangement of the board when. rested upon the top ofthe front of the-dresser when the board is hooked into the dresser orthe like, as by engagement behind the bridgepiece, always present ina.dresser or the like; and spanning. the drawer opening.

, In the said preferred embodiment of the invention will. be foundimportant and advantageousdetails of construction and arrangement, allof which will be readily understood from the specific descriptionhereinafter contained when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings forming part hereof and wherein said preferred embodiment, andothers, are illustrated.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top view of the complete ironing board in unfolded orironing condition.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the same, detail parts being showndiagrammatically but completely illustrated inother figures.

Figure 3 is an enlarged bottom view of a portion of. the inner sectionof the board illustrating one of the attaching hooks and adjusting meanstherefor, it being understood that the hooks and adjusting means areidentical wherever em ployed, a pair being sufficient in the presentcase.

Figure 4 is a sectional View through a central longitudinal line ofFigure 3.

Figure 5 is a transverse section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a transverse section on theline 6-4) of Figure 3- looking tothe right. or in the directtion of the arrows.

Figure '7 is a similar view on the line 'I--'! of Figure 3 looking inthe opposite direction.

Figure 8 is a bottom section and elevation approximately on the line 8-8of Figure 4.

Figure 9 is an end view of Figure 4.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary view of the abutting ends of the hingedsections of Figure. 1, enlarged, to illustrate one of the hingemembers,- it being understood that the hinge members are alike.

Figure 11 is an end view of the same.

Figure 12 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view onthe line 12-42 ofFigure 10.

Figure 13 is an end view of one of the abutting ends of Figure 10, partsof the hinged member being shown in section.

Figure 14 is an edge view of Figure 13, parts being broken away to showthe inner construction of the abutting ends of the board.

Figure 15 is a vertical sectional view through abutting end portions ofthe board, the one section of the board being folded onto the other.

Figure 16 is abottom view of Figure 10..

Figures 17 and 18 are respectively a crossv section and a detached viewillustrating a modified formation of hinge member.

Figure 19 is a detached elevation illustrating a modified form of thelatching device of Fig- ..ure 3.

and strong and rigid in character, preferably wood, but in instancesmetal such as aluminum} or plastics may be utilized. i

In fulfilling the purposes or objects of the present invention, it isdesirable that the outer section 28 may be folded over and upon the topof the inner section 2| and to better enable this to be done it will beobserved that the thickness of these sections be of substantial depthfor three purposes (see Figure 12) First of all it is highly importantthat the outer section be self-sustaining, that is, devoid of any suchadditional elements as legs or props to which end the abutting edges 22extend well below the upper hinged edges 23 thereof to assist inrelieving the strain on the hinges incident to downward pressure, inironing, on the outer section 20; that the hinges be so arranged thatthe folding of the outer section 20 may be downwardly onto the innersection 2i without any interference in the movement of portions thereofto the complete folding of the sections; and also thatthe hinging be ofa form to occupy a position completely below the plane of the uppersurfaces of the board, when the sections thereof are extended forironing, so that the combined ironing surfaces of the board will be inthe same plane throughout and smooth, to avoid projecting parts abovethe ,upper surface of the board that would obstruct or interrupt themovement of an ironing implement over the ironing face of the board.Therefore, the upper adjacent corners of the meeting edges of the boardare formed with recesses 24 of the board in which metal hinge links 25are 10- ,cated, the parallel arms 26 of the links passing throughtubular keepers 27 formed by folding flat sheet metal upon itself(Figure 12) and se curing the overlying flanges 28 and 29 thereof incomplemental relatively shallow recess portions 3| in the upper faces ofthe board sections, so as to be flush and continuous with the ironingfaces 3! of said sections. The flanges 28 and 29 being convenientlyfastened through the body of the sections and through a reinforcingplate 32, similarly embedded in the bottom surfaces of the sections, byrivets 33. This arrangement and formation of hinging will permit theboard sections, when extended, to be-perfectly fiat throughout theirironing face, will strongly support the outer section through theimmediate hinge construction braced'for considerable depth "below thehinge by the contacting portions of the meeting faces of the sectionsbelow the hinge (Figure 12), and will permit the outer section tobefolded flat onto the surface of the inner section' withoutinterference or obstruction (Figure sections 29 and 2|, the lower plates32 each carry lugs 34, adapted to underlie the opposite plate when thesections are opened to ironing position (Figures 2, 12 and 16), andpreferably 'the metal of the plates 32 is carried upwardly and aroundthe side edges of the sections 29 and 4 2| as shown at 35 to the topplates 29, and inwardly as at 36 to overlie or embed in the meeting endsof the sections 2|? and 2 l, The wooden, or other portions of thematerial of the sections is thus preserved against breaking, chipping orcracking under the changes or weight of throwing the outer section 29 toopen position which may at times occur in careless or indifferentsetting up and use of the board.

In folding the outer section 20 of the board over onto the section 2|thereof, it will be seen that as the section 2|] is swung upwardly itwill be at the same time raised with reference to the section 2| throughthe medium of the hinge links 25 and the upper adjacent corners of theboard sections cannot interfere with each other during the foldingmovement of the board. Instead of having the hinge member 25 in the formof a complete loop, as illustrated in Figure 10, the

' same may be of the formation illustrated in Figures 17 and 18 whereinit will be seen that the substitute for the link is formed of a U-shapedmember 31 adapted to have its arms 28 ea'ch're ceived into the bearingportion of a keeper 39, the securing flanges of the latter beingindicated at 4|] and 4| after the fashion of the equivalent constructionillustrated in Figure 12.

The arms of the U-shaped member 3'! are grooved as at 4'2 and thebearing portion of the keeper 39, in this instance, indented ordepressed as at 43 to permit the hinge member 2? to have freedom ofrotative movement while at the same time being held against endwisedisplacement of the arms 38 from the keepers 39.

The foregoing described hinging feature of the ironing board is notclaimed herein inasmuch as the claims thereto are withdrawn from theinstant application for a co-pending divisional case. The means forenabling attachment of the ironing board to a handy piec'eof furniture,as when the same is supported on the partially opened drawer of adresser, desk or the like, the inner member or section 2| of the boardis provided with a pair of hooks l i projected outwardly from the innerend of the ironing board and adjustably held thereon through the mediumof elongated hook shanks 35, slidably mounted endwise on the under faceof the board, the shanks being of relatively thin formation so as tomove approximately in the plane of the under face of the board topresent no substantial obstructions beyond said plane when the undersurface of the board is rested on the upper edge of the drawer and thehooks engaged with the customary bridge piece found above the draweropening. Preferably there are two of these hooks and shanks asillustrated, one near each edge and running'parallel with the edges ofthe board (Figure 2). 1 The underpart of the board is provided "withupwardly extending recess or groove portions 45 complemental to theshanks 45 of the hooks, these groove portions being of a lengthcommensurate with the length of the hook shanks when they,

are in closed position (Figure 4) but sufiiciently long to accommodate anumber of detents to cooperate with latching means for the Variouspositions of adjustment of the shanks and their hooks.

The detents referred to are represented atll and are constituted byinwardly turned flanges of a plate 53 embedded in the bottom 'of 'theboard section 2| and having intermediate the detents 41 arched orconnecting members 49 spaced upwardly from the detents 41 providingtherebe tween guideways 5|] for a widened and raisedend it at the outer:end of the shank 45,, the: guide portion of the plate, and oppositelyoffsetting the plate at 52 From the construction just described it will.be seen that the shanks ofv the hooks may be moved outwardly orinwardly, being guided" and confined. at all times to. the horizontalportions of the shanks by the head portions passing. between the detents41- and the members 49 or ways 50. The latching means for engaging thedetents 47 comprises a 'T-shaped member 53' composed of wire, the stemportion 5' of which is coiled into springs 55 extendedin oppositedirections and sleeved upon a rod 56, riveted at its ends 51 to theraised or offset end or head 5| of the shank '45", the free ends 58 ofthe springs projecting in a direction opposite to the stem portion 54and impinging upon the under surface of the oiiset end 51 to normallyforce the T-head of the structure upwardly and hold the same inpositionto automatically engage any one of the d'e'tent's 41 asdetermined y the adjustment of the hook tc wards or from the inner endof the board.

The T-he'ad of the latch is specially formed by extending the" wiresconstituting the stem outwardly in opposite directions (Figure 3) thenupwardly as at 59 to give adequate height to the latch, and then byreturn bend 6'0 downwardly mit sliding of the hook shank to anotherposition of adjustment.

It will be understood that'the means for guiding and latching the hooksin position, apart from the hook shanks and latching means'pers'e, may

all be formed of a single piece of. metal and readily installed in theboard section 2|, as by rivets or the equivalent G3, the end of theboard itself being reinforced by having. the inner end of the plate 48passing upwardly over the end face of the board as at 64' and over thetopof the board as at 65.

Where desirable the surfaces and corners of the board may be providedwith rubber or felt surfacing to prevent marring. the finish of thefurniture to which the board is secured, as for example, by pads 66 onthe inner end of the board section 2| and the similar lining; fi1 on theupper face of the shank 45 of the hook. The rubber lining. 61 on theupper face of the shank 45, as clearly indicated in Figure 5, is ofslightly less width than. the shank to save the rubberfrom impairment byrubbing on the metal edges or surfaces of the metal guiding portions ofthe device, it bein noted that the oppositely offset portion 52'',cooperating with the guide 52, is spaced upwardly a su'flicient'distance to leave a space 52a through which the rubber may freely passwhile the edges of the metal shank bear against the shoulders 52b, ofthe member 52 thereby avoiding any wear on the rubber. A similarformation of the metal 64, at the end of the board, provides a similarspace 520 directly above the guide 52 so that at this point the edges ofthe metal shank 61 will work against the metal edge of the plate 64 andthe rubber lining will have 6 free passage, that is, without rubbingcontact, through. the said space 520'.

The formation of the latch 53 is effi'cient and strongior the purposesherein intended, it being pointed out that the same is conveniently madeup ofv steel. wire having a springy characteristic and: coiled as at55', but it may be desirable, in instances, to further reinforce theT-head 53, and in such case the space 68 between the opposite portionsof the wirin of the T-head may beconnect'ed. by a supplemental strip orpiece of metal 69 secured to the opposite ends or return bend portionsof. the T-head,see Figure 19.

In: Figure 20 a slightly modified. form of the hook shank, hererepresented at 16, is shown, the

'same having" an upwardly bent reduced or neck portion. ll, connectedwith a head portion 12. This form enablesv the making of the hook andshank of a strip: of metal of uniform width throughout in lieuof: havingthe outwardly extending head. ortion. or flan es 5! of the previouslymentioned embodiment of the invention, it being understood that, whereused, the instant form of hook and shank will, of course, be such thatthe head portion 12 will ride in the ways formed beneath the flangesforming detents 41.

1. A portable ironing board having longitudinally extending channels atits inner end and securing means in the channels for temporarilyattaching the board to an article of furniture, the securing meanscomprising hooks and guide members for the hooks, each of the hooksincluding an elongated shank, a head portion at the end of the shank, anoffset portion in the shank adjacent to the head portion, and a latchmounted on the head portion, each of the guide members comprising aplate having a guide adjacent to the inner end of the board forreceiving the shank of one of the hooks, a plurality of spaced U-shapedstrap members pressed upwardly from the plate to provide a top' and sidewalls of a guideway, and horizontal, inwardly directed spaced extensionsproviding a bottom wall for the guideway and abutments to be engaged bythe latch, the head portion of one of the hooks being slidably receivedin the guideway.

2. A portable ironing board havingv longitudinally extending channels atits inner end and securing means in the channels for temporarilyattaching the board to an article of furniture, the securing. meanscomprising hooks and guide members. for the hooks, each of the hooksincluding an elongated shank, a head portion at the end. of the shank,an oll'set portion in the shank adjacent to the head portion, and alatch mounted on the head portion, each of the guide members comprisingplate having a flange at one end bent to engage the end and top surfacesof the board, a guide adjacent to said flange to receive the shank ofone of thehooks, a plurality of spaced U-shaped strap members pressedupvwardly from the plate to provide a top and side walls of a guideway,and horizontal, inwardly directed spaced: extensions providing a bottomwall for the guideway and abutments to be engaged by the latch, the headportion of one of thehooks being slidably received in the guideway.

3. A portable ironing board having longitudinally extending channels atits inner end and securing means in the channels for temporarilyattaching the board to an article of furniture, the securing meancomprising hooks and guide members for the hooks, each of the hooksincluding an elongated shank, a head portion at the end of the shank, anoffset portion in the shank ad- 'qjacent to the head portion, and alatch mounted on the head portion, each of the guide members comprisinga plate having a guide adjacent to the inner end of the board forreceiving the shank of one of the hooks, a plurality of spaced U-shaped-strap members pressed upwardly from the plate to provide a top and sidewalls of a guideway,

'and horizontal, inwardly directed spaced extensions providing a bottomwall for the guideway and abutments to be engaged by the latch, the headportion of one of the hooks being slidably received in the guideway,said guide comprising .a U-shaped strap pressed downwardly from theplate and a web in the plate adjacent to the downwardly pressed U-shapedstrap.

4. A portable ironing board having longitudinally extending channels atits inner end and ecuring means in the channels for temporarilyattaching the board to an article of furniture, the

securing means comprising hooks and guide members for the hooks, each ofthe hooks including an elongated shank, a head portion at the endof theshank, an offset portion in the shank adjacent to the head portion, alatch mounted on the head portion, and a furniture protecting padsecured to the shank, each of the guide members comprising a platehaving a guide adjacent to the inner end of the board for receiving theshank of one of the hooks, a plurality of spaced U-shaped strap memberspressed upwardly from the plate to provide a top and side walls of a,guideway, and horizontal, inwardly directed .spaced extensionsproviding a bottom wallior 'the guideway and abutments to be engaged bythe latch, the head portion of one of the hooks being slidably receivedin the guideway, said guide comprising a U-shaped strap presseddownwardly from the plate and a web in the plate adjacent to the straphaving a depression therein and said pad being of less width than theshank and freely passing through the depression in the web.

5. A portable ironing board having longitudinally extending channels atits inner end and securing means in the channels for temporarilyattaching the board to an article of furniture, the securing meanscomprising hooks and guide members for the hooks,.each of the hooksincluding an elongated shank, a head portion at the end of the shank, anoffset portion in the shank adjacent to the head portion, and a latchmountinwardly directed the latch, the head portion of one of the hooksLbeing slidably received in the guideway, said latch including aT-shaped head and spring means for holding the T-shaped head in positionto rest on 1 the U-shaped strap members and to engage with thehorizontal extensions.

'6. A portable ironing board having longitudi nally extending channelsat its inner end and 'securing eans in the channels for temporarilyattaching the board to an article of furniture, the securing meanscomprising hooks and guide members for the hooks, each of the hooksincluding an elongated shank, a head portion at the end of the shank, anoffset portion in the shank adjacent to the head portion, and a latchmounted on the head portion, each of the guide members comprising aplate having a guide adjacent to the inner end of the board forreceiving-the shank of one of the hooks, a plurality of spaced 'U-shaped strap members pressed upwardly from the plate to provide a topand side walls of a guideway, and horizontal, inwardly directed spacedextensions providing a bottom wall ,tor the guideway and abutments to beengaged by the latch, the head portion of one of the hooks beingslidably received in the guideway, said latch comprising a T-shaped headformed from spring wire and a, stem portion coiled to form a spring foryieldably holding, the T-shaped head in position to rest on the U-shapedstrap members and to engage with the horizontal extensions. 1 7; Aportable ironing board having longitudinally extending channel at itsinner end and securing means in the channels for temporarily attachingthe board to an article Otiurniture, the securing means comprising hooksand guide members for the hooks, each of the hooks including anelongated shank, a head portion atuthe end of the shank,-a-n offsetportion in the shank adjacent to the head portion, and a latch'mounii edon the head portion, each of the guide members comprising a plate havinga guide adjacent to the inner end of the board for receiving the shankof one of the hooks, a plurality of spaced U-shaped strap memberspressed upwardly from the plate to provide a, top and side walls of aguideway, and horizontal, inwardly directed spaced extensions providinga bottom wall for the guideway and abutments to be engaged by the latch,thehead portion of one of the hooksbeirig slidably received in theguideway, said latch comprising a T-shaped head formed from spring wire,a reinforcing plate attached to the head, and a stem portion coiled toform a spring for yieldably holding the head in position to rest on theU-shaped strap members and to engage with the horizontal extensions.ALPHA PERRY LANTZ.

REFERENCES CITED I The; following references are of record in the fileof this patent:

"UNITED STATES PATENTS D te 2,486,606 Lantz NOV. 1, 1949

